Survey shows dissatisfaction with police services

Monday

About half of Columbia’s residents say they are dissatisfied with police services — but only a third would be “very likely” to support a tax increase for additional officers.

The results of the city’s annual survey show that in 2017, satisfaction with public safety services and residents’ feelings of overall safety in Columbia declined. The annual survey, which is conducted by the ETC Institute as a report card of city functions, has shown for the past few years that satisfaction in these areas is on the decline.

The results are based on a random sampling of 850 local households surveyed late last year.

Down from a high of 81 percent in 2005, only 61 percent of residents polled said they are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the city’s public safety services. That number is also six percentage points lower than 2016.

About 51 percent of the residents surveyed said they were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the overall quality of police services in 2017. Feelings of overall safety in the city also decreased between 2016 and 2017, with only 36 percent of respondents indicating they felt safe in downtown Columbia at night.

Minority respondents were also more likely than white respondents to report they were unsatisfied or very unsatisfied with police services.

These levels of dissatisfaction are abnormally low — according to ETC’s report, nationwide about 70 percent and statewide about 66 percent of people are satisfied with their municipal police services. A 47 percent satisfaction rate among Columbia residents for both crime prevention and police response times in emergencies are also lower than the statewide and nationwide averages.

Residents answering the most recent survey also made it known that public safety is their top priority — when asked to rank which city service is most important, about two-thirds selected public safety as their first choice. Public safety was placed in the top four important services by 82 percent of respondents.

Though it is clear police services and safety are important to residents, a smaller percentage of respondents support a potential property tax increase to improve those services.

Columbia added a new question to last year’s survey designed to gauge the likelihood of residents to support a property tax increase to hire 30 additional police officers and 15 firefighters. City leaders have been discussing the idea of asking for the property tax increase for some time, but there is no scheduled date for the measure to go to a vote.

The question asked residents if they would “support” such a measure — not if they would vote on it.

Results from the tax question indicated only 34.2 percent of respondents would be “very likely” to support an additional property tax for public safety. Answering that they were “somewhat likely” to support the measure were 20.8 percent of respondents — the remaining 45 percent either indicated they would not support the measure or otherwise were unsure.

Columbia Police Officers' Association Executive Director Dale Roberts said he also reviewed the survey results and noted that public safety is a growing concern among residents and their number one listed priority. What is troubling, he said, is that regardless of this consistent feedback city leaders don’t seem to prioritize funding for officers the way their constituents do. He recently estimated the city needs to add an additional 128 officers to its about 170 current positions to meet demands for a community-oriented policing model.

Roberts said if the city took the property tax proposal to a public vote, he would be “really nervous” about the outcome. Voters rejected such a tax in 2014, and Roberts said the union has heard complaints that residents do not trust the city to spend money wisely.

The CPOA received a strong, negative response on its Facebook page when the city spent $1.1 million to purchase land for a park at the corner of Broadway and Providence Road, Roberts said. That money did not come from parks funds, but instead was interest that had accrued on a city account for capital improvement projects — in other words, it could have been used for a variety of purposes.

“It’s things like that, people don’t trust that the city will use” taxpayer dollars “for what they’re supposed to,” Roberts said. “They tell me they support our police but just don’t trust the city.”

Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala said he is “not surprised” by the results of the survey, and that previous city surveying seemed to indicate an approval rate of about two-thirds for a small property tax increase. The lack of support for additional police funding can be attributed to the “current climate,” he said, noting widespread dissatisfaction with police leadership, frustrations with the city manager and an ongoing debate about community-oriented policing.

Sending the property tax measure to a vote also makes him nervous, Skala said, but there are few alternatives. If people do not support the measure, the only other option is for the city to cut services.

One of those services on the chopping block is trash pickup, Skala said. City leaders have discussed privatizing trash collection and even getting rid of ownership of the landfill, he said.

“Really, were just hoping that if we tie this" property tax money "specifically and only to public safety, people will support it,” Skala said.

ccampbell@columbiatribune.com

573-815-1718

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